{"id":3277,"date":"2019-06-13T00:13:25","date_gmt":"2019-06-13T07:13:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/pal-question-911\/"},"modified":"2023-08-04T14:48:27","modified_gmt":"2023-08-04T21:48:27","slug":"controlling-woolly-aphids-on-apple-trees","status":"publish","type":"pal","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/controlling-woolly-aphids-on-apple-trees\/","title":{"rendered":"controlling woolly aphids on apple trees"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Is there something I can do to prevent my apple trees from getting woolly aphids? I&#8217;d rather not have to spray anything.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Encouraging beneficial insects is one step you can take. A 2013 study at <a href=\"http:\/\/news.wsu.edu\/2013\/05\/13\/flower-power-fights-orchard-pests\/#.Uo0rhMRciUM\">Washington State University<\/a> found that planting <em>Alyssum<\/em> flowers attracted syrphids which did a good job of reducing woolly aphid populations. Here are highlights of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S104996441300056X\">paper<\/a> that was published based on the study&#8217;s findings:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sweet alyssum flowers had the highest attractiveness to syrphids.<\/li>\n<li>Faster suppression of woolly apple aphid occurred on trees closer to alyssum flowers.<\/li>\n<li>Higher densities of natural enemies were observed near sweet alyssum plantings.<\/li>\n<li>Natural enemies were found to move between sweet alyssum and adjacent apple trees.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As Washington State University&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/hortsense.cahnrs.wsu.edu\/Search\/MainMenuWithFactSheet.aspx?CategoryId=3&amp;PlantDefId=59&amp;ProblemId=17\">HortSense<\/a> website (search under &#8220;tree fruit,&#8221; &#8220;apple,&#8221; then &#8220;aphids&#8221;) indicates, encouraging beneficial insects is a good practice for the control of all 3 main types of aphids affecting apples, be they woolly, rosy, or green:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Control honeydew-feeding ants, which may protect aphid colonies from predators.<\/li>\n<li>Encourage natural predators including ladybird beetles, lacewings, syrphid (hover) fly larvae, and parasitic wasps. Avoid use of broad-spectrum insecticides which kill these beneficial insects.<\/li>\n<li>Hand-wipe or prune to control small, localized infestations (when practical).<\/li>\n<li>Provide proper nutrition. High levels of nitrogen encourage aphid reproduction. Switch to a slow-release or low-nitrogen fertilizer.<\/li>\n<li>Wash aphids from tree with a strong stream of water before leaves curl.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is there something I can do to prevent my apple trees from getting woolly aphids? I&#8217;d rather not have to spray anything. &nbsp; Encouraging beneficial insects is one step you can take. A 2013 study at Washington State University found that planting Alyssum flowers attracted syrphids which did a good job of reducing woolly aphid populations. Here are highlights of the paper that was published based on the study&#8217;s findings: Sweet alyssum flowers had the highest attractiveness to syrphids. Faster&#8230;<\/p>\n<div><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/controlling-woolly-aphids-on-apple-trees\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">controlling woolly aphids on apple trees<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","keyword":[973,80,518,157],"class_list":["post-3277","pal","type-pal","status-publish","hentry","keyword-alyssum","keyword-aphids","keyword-apples-diseases-and-pests","keyword-beneficial-insects"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal\/3277"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/pal"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword?post=3277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}